Recurring tasks - Again

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Busydave

Registered
I KNOW this query has been covered in earlier threads – in fact I think I may have contributed to those threads myself, but I cannot recall the solution.

I have just completed a major overhaul of my GTD system, and I have EVERYTHING captured in project lists. (The sense of completeness has to be felt to be believed! Also, my organiser is suddenly a very beautiful thing, surrounded by an aura of peace and possibility. I mean it!).

I have updated the Next Action lists for most of the active projects, (another pleasure - it means that I have taken over the steering wheel in things that matter most to me). But here is my query. In a purely paper based system (customized Filofax) what is the best way to make sure that repeating tasks are carried out? For example, my work projects include – read financial pages every day; update staff work schedule daily (rather than the twice weekly as before).

Apart from writing them down every day in my diary for the rest of the year, I can’t think of any other way to get these actions to hit me right between the eyes first thing every morning at the office.

Any tips?

Thanks

Busydave
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Recurring tasks - Again

One option for recurring routine tasks is to use a checklist to be placed in your tickler file. First thing each morning open your tickler file and you will be reminded to perform these tasks. After you have completed the daily tasks, put the checklist in the following day's folder. This way you avoid the effort of writing it in your planner each day but you can have confidence that the tickler file will capture these open loops.
 
J

jkgrossi

Registered
Re: Recurring tasks - Again

GJR said:
One option for recurring routine tasks is to use a checklist to be placed in your tickler file. First thing each morning open your tickler file and you will be reminded to perform these tasks. After you have completed the daily tasks, put the checklist in the following day's folder. This way you avoid the effort of writing it in your planner each day but you can have confidence that the tickler file will capture these open loops.
Click to expand...

That's what I've been doing. It's worked pretty well so far!
 
B

Busydave

Registered
Thanks everyone;

This looks like a perfect reason for having a tickler file system in operation. Currently though I don’t use one - I’m still kinda waiting to see if enough reasons accumulate to justify one.

My Filofax has a two pages per week format, with a bookmark (detachable black plastic ruler). Maybe I will write the daily recurring items on a single sheet and let it sit between the two pages that make up the week – and then transfer it forward each time I move the weekly bookmark forward.

Alternatively, MacKenzie covers the topic of the ideal day: the model seems to acknowledge and accommodate the realities of daily recurring tasks – sign post, return calls, meet staff, as well as leaving clear chunks of time to tackle main projects. I think the idea may be a bit old-fashioned now, but I may just try to tweak it to cover the realties that are part of my own day.

Thanks

Dave
 
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intrigueme@aol.com

Guest
Dave -

Try the following (borrowed from one of Filofax's competitors - Franklin/Covey)

Put your Daily Recurring Tasks ON your pagefinder. Franklin has ones that are specially designed to hold a narrow piece of paper (and so does DayTimer, I believe).

The only challenge I believe is that all three companies drill their holes in slightly different locations, so I don't know if another company's pagefinder will fit. You may have to jury rig something using post-it's or your labeller.
 
M

me_brown1110

Guest
Does it need to be in your planner book?

If the tasks are work-related, do they really need to be written down everyday? Maybe just print out a Word document in a checklist form and keep it in your inbox (if you don't use ticklers).

Stuff I need to deal with the next morning I leave out on my desk before I leave the office. And it's there staring me in the face when i get there in the morning.

Or--keep a "Routine" checklist(s) in your Filofax's Notes section, and just put down in your calendar, "10 am -- Daily Routine." Turn to the Notes section, and away you go.

Many are the ways and the paths. You need to find what works best for you.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I keep a list on my PDA (in Shadow, although it wouldn't have to be) that gives me my "agenda" for the day. I use checkboxes, and then clear the checkboxes each morning for a fresh start. Mine goes something like this:

Synch PDA
Check voicemail and email
Process Inbox
Prepare Daily List
Calls
Next Action Work
Clear Desk
Backup Computer

It helps keep me on track and get the little routine things done that might get forgotten if I get involved in something. Some days it goes by the wayside - but I find that if I'm not feeling particularly motivated, starting off going through this list can help get me back into a productive mindset.

Caroline
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Sorry - I didn't read carefully enough to see that you had asked about a purely paper system.

Before I started using the PDA, I had my list on a 3x5 card in "portrait" view - you can print it using your printer, or simply write it longhand. I laminated it for durability, but that's not necessary.

When working at my desk I kept it in one of those little holders designed to keep papers upright while referring to them while typing so it was always within view. It can be easily removed and carried with you, as well, if necessary.

Caroline
 
T

terceiro

Guest
If there is a weakness in DA's description of GTD, I think recurring items must be it. I'm consistently surprised at how many times it comes up around here. Of course, that's not to say that those pernicious daily recurring tasks aren't *my* achille's heel as well...

I do use a Palm myself, and it works very nicely for me most of the time, but this is one instance where, for me, nothing seems to work. I tried a daily list as mentioned by Caroline, using HandyShopper2 instead of Shadow (I own Shadow, but I heart HS2). But I never looked at it. I checked my lists all the time, but my daily stuff? Skipped.

So I moved to a paper-system, just for this one aspect. I wrote out my daily repeating tasks in a small piece of paper, and then taped it inside the cover of my Palm. This gave me a constant reminder of my daily tasks, with the idea that I'd look at it every time I opened my Palm. The same would hold (and used to, when I used a Covey planner) with the plastic-bookmark version. It's always there, so you always have it in front of you.

Which is exactly the problem. In a disturbingly short span of time, it became part of the landscape: I stopped seeing it there. My daily recurring list, instead of being a constant reminder of repeating tasks, was just a yellow blur -- an amazingly invisible yellow blur.

Despite doing quite well with my projects and lists, I'm really discouraged by my abilities to perform my regular tasks right now (perhaps due to a 2am work session last night, the effects of which are quickly overtaking my grip on reality), but can't find it in my heart to blame the medium. They're all good: notecards, bookmarks, tattoos, checklists -- the real question for me is how to make those annoying, consistent, neverending tasks become routine?

I'm not sure this answers your question (I'm not sure this is even in English anymore) -- but it is something I'm noodling over myself right now.

Oh, and congratulations on your massive achievement! May your filofax continue to provide that warm, comforting glow.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Thanks again;

Rich, believe it or not, I have an abandoned Classic-size Covey organizer at home, complete with page finder as you described. I dropped it in favour of the smaller Filofax because every time I opened it in a public place, I felt that I suddenly looked like some sort of a supervisor or stock controller!

I will check the Filofax website for a similar product. Alternatively, I might, as you say, jury-rig a solution by following Caroline’s excellent suggestion and creating a laminated page finder. Also, Caroline, I have a small notice board on the wall at the front edge of my desk: a short color printed list of daily tasks placed there should be sufficiently eye-catching to get my daily attention.

Terceiro, you have described exactly one of the key reasons for my original post – what method could I possibly use that would not eventually sink back into the background? How can I be sure that it will hit me right between the eyes at the critical time each morning? Maybe another spin on this is: how can I be sure that I will continue to attach sufficient importance to the list so that as soon as it catches my eye I will commit unreservedly to completing it? (“Phew! Thank God I noticed that list, my day would be thrown into chaos if I missed those tasks!”).

Maybe it’s a case of ensuring that the benefits are immediate, and of continuing value to me. The two items I mentioned in my first post would have a cumulative benefit for me if consistently done. Hopefully, after a period of time, I would have a nagging sense of incompleteness if I overlooked the daily tasks list, and this sensation would drag me to the list.

I think the other class of daily actions to consider are those that comes under the drip-drip heading. It has been pointed out in various books that if you write two hundred words per day (about ten typed lines) you would have drafted a seventy five thousand word novel in one year. If you read a new subject for 20 minutes per day, you will have completed over 120 hours of work by the end of one year, which may be the equivalent of a year at college. However, the daily actions required may become a little drab and uninspiring.

Writers on goal-setting say it is essential that we review our list of goals at least once a day. This will remind us why we have committed to carrying out the piece-meal daily steps that we have prescribed for ourselves.

Me_brown1110, I think your solution is a clever use of GTD – we should be constantly emptying out our in-boxes, and if I keep returning the daily tasks list to the in-box (because this IS the right place for it to go in order for your solution to work), then it will inevitably keep coming to my attention. A subtle and disciplining tactic!

Thanks to this thread I now feel confident enough to generate recurring next actions for projects that are meaningful to me – and this of course means that their engines are switched on and they are moving forward.

Thank again

Dave

P.S Terceiro, yes, the Filofax is not only still glowing but is now magnetic – I am irresistibly drawn to it when any new idea hits me. It seems to be guaranteeing its own completeness!
 
A

aderoy

Registered
Radig the messages above, I have to ask a question: Do you need the list in hand (Filofax)? If not, then why not generate a list in a wordprocessor, printout and place in your tickler file? Each morning you empty the file as 'new business' and it would be 'in your face'.

I think Jason W. had a trick to make sure he used the tickler file each morning - place a $20USD in random.

I have been doing this for my daily / quarterly / yearly checklists and it seems to work.

Anything that is required in hand I have a section in TimeDesign (similar to Filofax/Covey/Daytimer) that I reference on the calendar page as required.

Tab 1 - Reference , checklist labeled Computer Room Shutdown Procedure

Calender - 1CR Shutdown

I have to check the emergency shutdown procedure at random or when there is an equipment change to make sure everything is covered.
 
B

Busydave

Registered
Aderoy

Thanks. Your mention of a tab got me thinking. What if I had, say, a separate red tab at the front of my organizer with “daily” written on it, which would be hard to overlook?

But then as I flicked through the organizer to find the best place to locate this red-tabbed divider I realised that I ALWAYS open the Next Actions section each morning. So far, I always have the @office page first, but what it the first page was always @daily?

I think it’s worth a try …

Dave
 
A

Ambar

Registered
Busydave said:
But then as I flicked through the organizer to find the best place to locate this red-tabbed divider I realised that I ALWAYS open the Next Actions section each morning. So far, I always have the @office page first, but what it the first page was always @daily?
Click to expand...

It's just all about remembering to put the briefcase in front of the door before you go to bed, isn't it? :)
 
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Kai-Peter Bäckman

Guest
My main system is computer based using ActionOutline (mentioned in another thread) but my daily work is paper based. At the end of each day I print out a template checklist sheet from Word that has my 10-15 daily recurring tasks prefilled and about 30 free blocks to fill in tasks manually. I have a similar one for the week. Each template includes "Print and fill new template" as one of their tasks.

This has worked wonders for me. My work is centered around the computer and having a separate physical checklist helps focus me during the day. Adding a recurring tasks is as simple as adding it to the template. Having this daily plan also helps me to front load some recurring tasks that might get procrastinated otherwise. I have tested several combinations of Palm/software based systems but here I think paper and pencil are the best.

So busydave, my system is a bit like filling in the tasks for every day .. :)
 
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Anonymous

Guest
Low-tech solution for recurring tasks

This one really works and costs less than $10.00. I have 27 things that I have to do daily, or at least try to do. By this I mean, if a few are skipped one day that is okay but they are an urgent issue the next. These range from writing certain short reports to changing the cat box. I got a teacher's grade book from an educational supply store and I wrote the items down the left hand column of the page as if they were students' names. I wrote them roughly by time by day (am, pm) and location (context). I used pencil because I knew I would be revising for the first few times in regard to order. When you open the book, there is a two page spread and across it at the top are dates for an entire month. Each day, working down, I can check off the items I have done and then easily see the next day what did not get a check. I actually use an X if I did not do the item, so I don't skip a line and end up on the wrong space. I also have at times written in how long it took me to do some of the things if I was interested in that or rated how stressful they were or indicated with a star if I had a note on it to do something in a different way the next day. After the first month you turn the page, and continue on. These books are not available at places like Office Depot, only teacher's stores. After awhile the things became automatic. I misplaced the book for lack of use but now I am going to change my list of every day items and will get a new book. This is also a good way to keep track of strength training exercises so you can keep varying your workout but not miss any muscles. However, it can get overwhelming when you try to capture all the variations that you know.
 
F

Frank Buck

Guest
I have been in education since 1982, and learned VERY early that education is a cyclical business and that the ability capture each of the tasks in a project that is going to show up again next year is a HUGE time saver.

Starting off, my system was a simple month-at-a-glance calendar for appointments, a set of tickler files, and a memo pad in my shirt pocket. I collected on the memo pad--one item per page. The pages then went into the tickler files. Each morning, the drill was to dump the file on the desk and organize the slips of paper in the order they would be done.

I handled repeating tasks exactly the same way--with one exception. The slip of paper would like the task, and then underneath instructions for when to re-file the slip of paper. It didn't matter whether the task needed to be done again tomorrow or every four years (like renewing my driver's license). I was all handled the same way.

Of course thing got more sophisticated over the years. I continued to use single notes for tasks which come back each day or each week. For everything else, I put together a chronological list for the year (saved on the computer so it could be revised as needed). I would print off the list once each year and throw it in the tickler file for the date of the first task which appeared. For the rest of the year, it was a matter of having the list pop up, doing the task, and refilling it for the date of the next task.

Hope this helps.
Frank
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
My rather low-tech solution for daily items:
- a small white-board
- semi-permanent markers (need water to erase)
- dry erase markers

I write the list itself using the semi-permanent markers, then mark things completed with the dry-erase markers. At the start of each day a quick swipe erases yesterday's check marks. If/when the list itself needs to change, a damp paper towel is all that's needed.
 
Jean-David Roth

Jean-David Roth

Registered


I have developed a windows Excel tool to have in (possibly printable) Excel columns, several cyclical recurring tasks you type in just once at the beginning of the year on one tab. with indication of frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly.
Then, at the start of a new year for instance, I click on a button, and everything is sorted on another Excel "timeline" tab, with more than 365 large column to handle the distribution of up to about 30 (recurring) tasks. if you print them, you can put them in your tickler 31 12 file, so that you have all for the day (or almost) on just one page.
It has a drawback, though : due to different recurring frequencies, you end up having pages that you can use only on a specific day.
For instance, if there is a weekly and a monthly task that goes on 1st Jan, they will be printed/displayed on the same page/Excel column in January.
This will allow for you to put them on the 1st of month when month will be January, but not when month will be February, March... because on February, these tasks will not be waiting for you to complete them on the same day. Of course you will have the monthly task on 1st February, but the first occurrence of the weekly task will occur 5 weeks after the 1st of January, so 35 days later probably on 4 of February.
So, ... I am wondering… is this a great tool, or something that is unacceptable from the GTD philosophy standpoint?
There is a trade-off here. It depends also about how much different cyclical task you must manage. If you have a lot, in the end, you will not have more than 31 sheets of paper for a given month to place in each day of your 31 12 for that month.
I have to admit that I like my tool, but I am bad with my 31 12 file due to a lack of reviewing it.
But these days, I am trying to implement ways for retired people to program some change in their lives. And I want to apply my recipes on myself. One of my priorities is to start my 31 12 folders cabinet reviewing seriously, and it has a place in my "reprogram myself" schedule, in my "Daily routine" other Excel File.
Thanks for reading.
 
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